Free Republic

Although Americans are used to Labor Day campaign kickoffs, this year’s back-to-back political conventions meant exposure to more than the usual number of partisan promises of a bright future and excoriation of the opposition. So, while most of us who address the national conventions like to think our words will make all the difference for our party and the great American who is our nominee, in reality our speeches usually just blend into a kaleidoscope of impressions the public takes from the week’s events. That is why, in my own convention speech, I tried to tap into a sentiment already...

Voters in California have been encouraged to use mail-in absentee ballots for years now. The idea is to increase participation. And it has. But this year some voters are wishing they hadn't done it. Mary Wirth, an adjunct law professor at Hastings College and Sunset District resident, got an e-mail Wednesday morning from one of her closest friends. She'd voted early, but then changed her mind on election day. "She had outrageous buyer's remorse," Wirth said. "She said, 'I feel like such an idiot.' " Join the crowd. It wasn't just that some voters made their selection early and then...

Fred is not dead. But his campaign is hanging by a thread. That pretty much sums up where Fred Thompson's bid for the White House stands. Heading into last week's Iowa caucuses, many political observers were saying the former U.S. senator from Tennessee needed to at least finish third to remain in the hunt for the Republican nomination. Thompson got that, narrowly beating out Sen. John McCain for the third-place spot by less than one percentage point. That's the good news, such as it was. But the bad news is that attention has now shifted to Tuesday's New Hampshire primary,...

Republican presidential candidate Fred Thompson's current political playbook - a high-profile visit to the "Tonight" show, a splashy bus tour, the efforts to take a familiar actor and reintroduce him in a new political role - contains pages that look eerily familiar to California voters. Maybe that's because the former Tennessee senator now has at his side some of same key aides who - in nine short weeks - helped transform Republican Arnold Schwarzenegger from "The Terminator" into the chief executive of the Democratic-leaning most populous state in the nation. Thompson plans to formally kick off his presidential bid -...

HURON – Fred Thompson won the first-ever South Dakota Republican Party Presidential Straw Poll at the South Dakota State Fair Aug. 30 through Sept. 3, 2007. Thompson bested the field of nine garnering 25 percent of the vote. He was followed by Rudy Giuliani who received 19 percent; John McCain received 14 percent, Mike Huckabee and Mitt Romney each received 13 percent; Ron Paul received 8 percent; Duncan Hunter received 4 percent; Sam Brownback received 3 percent; and Tom Tancredo received 1 percent of the vote. More than 500 people voted in the poll which was conducted at the...

Fred Thompson does not want to meet the Butter Princess. Everywhere he turns at this morning's meet-and-greet at the Minnesota State Fair, he is surrounded by hundreds of star-struck onlookers, many of them "Law & Order" fans who line up three-dozen deep for a close-up with the actor who would be president. Thompson, a sometimes reluctant campaigner, is in full movie-star mode, and has his good-ole-boy charm set on high. All the women he meets are "honey" and the men "buddy." Even dressed down in khakis and a blue shirt with the sleeves rolled up, he is hard to miss....

Fred Thompson has been acting like he has all the time in the world to get his campaign going, with his aides and advisers saying they wanted to get a first-class organization humming before the “Law & Order” actor steps out for his close-up. One adviser, seeking to calm down an excitable reporter, even pointed out that “there will be two World Series” before the 2008 election. But in fact Thompson – who plans to travel the country with his family in a luxury bus emblazoned with the words “Security, Unity, Prosperity” -- is in a race against time that...

<p>Fred Thompson, the actor and former Tennessee senator whose flirtation with a presidential bid has frustrated some supporters, will file papers to officially enter the race next Thursday, his campaign manager told key backers this afternoon.</p> <p>"Fred is definitely is going to make the race," campaign manager Bill Lacy told members of the Thompson campaign's national finance team in a conference call. "We are in this race to win." Lacy said Thompson will also announce his campaign on a webcast next Thursday. After that he is expected to visit Iowa Sept. 7, New Hampshire on Sept. 8 and 9, and South Carolina after that. There will also be events Sept. 13-15 in Florida and Tennessee, Lacy said.</p>

Des Moines, Iowa (AP) -- Republican Fred Thompson, whose entry into the presidential race has been long anticipated, will officially launch his candidacy Sept. 6 in a webcast on his campaign site, followed by a five-day tour of early primary states, The Associated Press has learned. The preliminary campaign of the former Tennessee senator and "Law & Order" actor is to disclose details about how he will formally enter the race in a Thursday afternoon conference call with supporters. House parties will be held nationwide on Sept. 6. A tour of Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina will quickly follow...

WHY WON'T FOLKSY "Law & Order" actor Fred Thompson just admit he's running for president of these here United States? It all boils down to that pesky NBC show, and using that exposure to your best advantage. Thompson, a Republican, has dabbled in acting, lobbying and lawyering over the years, serving as Tennessee's representative in the United States Senate from 1994 to 2003. In his twilight days of serving the country, he joined the cast of "Law & Order" in 2002 as good'ol backwoods boy and New York City District Attorney Arthur Branch. Strong character, basically a good guy who...

WASHINGTON (Map) - Former Washington lobbyist and candidate for the GOP Presidential nomination Fred Thompson hasn't let accusations that he's violating Federal Elections Commission (FEC) law by running a shadow campaign slow him down. Thompson will be in the Twin Cities today to raise money for his "testing the waters" campaign while experts continue to assert that Thompson is using a loophole in the law to avoid the scrutiny that comes with becoming an official candidate for the GOP nomination. For someone who is only "testing the waters," Thompson's campaign team has seen a lot of upheaval. Today his communications...

Indianapolis — “I’m with Fred” enticed the placards set up here at the Midwest Republican Leadership Conference at a table touting the noncampaign of actor, ex-senator and possible presidential candidate Fred Thompson. In exchange for a $250 check, the faithful and the curious could enter a private room to meet Thompson, a political insider playing the outsider who might be the nation’s next Ronald Reagan — or might not even run. Some walked away from the closed-door fundraiser on Saturday afternoon convinced. “He looks presidential,” said Jeff Cardwell, 47, a conservative Christian lumber and hardware retailer. “He talks about going...

Republican Fred Thompson says the terrorist threat from Islamic radicals is going to pose danger to the United States for a long time. He says "We have got to be more united and more committed than ever before." The former Tennessee senator and actor known for his role on NBC's "Law & Order" spoke last night at the Midwest Republican Leadership Conference in Indianapolis. Before his speech, he said he's in a sound position to make a run for the Republican presidential nomination, even though he hasn't declared his candidacy and others in the crowded field announced months ago. Thompson...

Tennessee voters have often exhibited a fondness for political symbols —Estes Kefauver’s ’coonskin cap or Lamar Alexander’s plaid shirt, for a couple of historical examples — that haven’t always played well to a national audience. This is something that Fred Thompson may want to consider as Tennessee fans urge him to climb back into his famous red pickup truck for a presidential campaign, as reported last week by the Associated Press. Right now, it’s parked and rusting at his mom’s house. Of course, he first might want to consider making a decision on whether to run. But Thompson fans figure...

Will Fred run? That seems to be the question of the hour as former Tennessee Sen. Fred Thompson continues to toy with the idea of running for the White House in 2008. Thompson needs to get off the fence and either declare his candidacy or get out of the way so the serious candidates can run. What’s the hurry? Well, for Thompson, making his decision soon would give him the opportunity to make up for lost time. Most of the candidates in the Republican field have been running for months. They have a huge head start in getting their names...

All-but-declared GOP candidate Fred Thompson said Saturday he is in a sound position to make a run for the nomination even though others announced their candidacies months ago. "We have done within a few months what other people have spent much longer periods of time doing," Thompson told reporters before delivering a keynote speech to the Midwest Republican Leadership Conference, which has drawn party activists from 12 states. Thompson has had a less-than-stellar summer that included a campaign staff shake-up and fundraising that failed to meet expectations. But he has polled well in national surveys despite his unofficial status. "We've...

Back in June, Motor City Madman Ted Nugent said he admires a lot of the 2008 Republican presidential candidates, and especially would-be candidate Fred Thompson. "I really like Mike Huckabee and Tommy Thompson," Nugent told Dennis Miller. "I admire Mitt Romney. I admire John McCain. But to whittle it down right now I really have the Nugent spotlight, and I've been scrutinizing Mr. Fred Thompson. I think he glows a little bit more than those other great gentlemen." Does Thompson think that Nugent glows? And if he does, will he still think so after watching a concert video in which...

Lane Hudson, an Internet gadfly, filed a complaint with the FEC on Monday, accusing Sen. Thompson of illegally raising more money than he needs to decide whether to run for president. Federal law allows potential candidates to raise money to travel, conduct polls and pay for other expenses related to "testing the waters" for a political campaign, without any requirement that the prospective candidate file financial reports with the Federal Elections Commission during that exploratory period. But the law prohibits anyone who is "testing the waters" from hoarding the money thus raised for use during his actual campaign. "We're following...

Former Bush Scribe To Thompson's Staff Matt Scully, a former speechwriter for President Bush, is back to work--this time for soon to be candidate Fred Thompson. Thompson spokeswoman Linda Rozett confirmed Thursday that Scully has joined Team Thompson, but wouldn't say what, specifically, he is doing for the non-campaign. "We are a team effort," she wrote in an e-mail. "A lot of people are helping Fred Thompson test the waters--Ed McFadden, Mary Matalin...and Matt Scully." Word on the street is that Scully is busy writing Thompson's announcement speech. But as of now, its not clear exactly when the speech will...

Los Angeles (AP) -- If Fred Thompson is auditioning for the role of a lifetime, he could hardly be any better prepared. For millions, Thompson is simply Arthur Branch, the gruff, hard-nosed district attorney on NBC's "Law & Order." Many others may recognize him from strong, take-charge movie roles including an admiral in "The Hunt for Red October." As Thompson prepares for a likely run for the presidency — he said Wednesday "it will not be long" until he makes an announcement on the subject — his image has been cultivated as much by Hollywood as by his time as...